Broken toe, bumblefoot, got, infection?

[Aleelupton]

My welsummer Tilly has had a broken toe since they day she hatched. She was one of my first hens so I didn't know I could fix it at the time. She is almost 11 months old. She had never had any issues with this toe and walks/roosts like all the other chickens. I noticed her limping yesterday and upon closer inspection this toe was swollen and slightly pink. I'm still fairly new to chickens so I'm turning to the experts to help me decide what this may be and how I should treat it. What does this look like? As a nurse when I see swelling and pink I think infection. I have also read that there is such thing as bumblefoot and gout in chickens.

Any help is much appreciated. I don't want my girl in any pain.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you wash up the foot, take a look at the front edges, bottom of the foot/toes and see if there are any scabs/sores or black dots? The front side, is it dirt or scabs there, hard to tell. Chicken feet are so glamorous you know

Limping, redness and swelling - yes, to me that would indicate injury or possibly Bumblefoot (infection of the foot).
You can soak the feet in a warm epsom salts bath, gently wash, inspect and let us know what you see. ( I would look at both feet closely)

 

[Aleelupton]

Can you wash up the foot, take a look at the front edges, bottom of the foot/toes and see if there are any scabs/sores or black dots? The front side, is it dirt or scabs there, hard to tell. Chicken feet are so glamorous you know

Limping, redness and swelling - yes, to me that would indicate injury or possibly Bumblefoot (infection of the foot).
You can soak the feet in a warm epsom salts bath, gently wash, inspect and let us know what you see. ( I would look at both feet closely)
View attachment 1770074

I will definitely clean them up and look at the bottoms of them tomorrow. I just remembered noticing some blood on the floor of the coop three days ago. We are currently doing renovations to the coop and I'm starting to wonder if she stepped a sharp piece of wood or if we dropped a staple from the staple gun. I will get more pictures tomorrow after I clean her up.

 

[Aleelupton]

Okay so I washed and examined her feet and there is one tiny scab on that foot, but nowhere near that toe. I took video with the intentions of screenshotting pictures from it and apparently my video didnt take. Here is the only picture I have. In the picture you can see the tiny scab on the back little toe. I don't see any other wounds on here except for some missing feather on her back from breeding. I have ordered hen saddles which are shipping tomorrow. Her toe is definitely swollen and possible pus filled and warm to touch. Could this tiny scab be the source of infection in her larger broken toe? I cleaned the foot with peroxide. What should I do from here? And if medications are suggested can I find these at a tractor supply?

 

[Aleelupton]

 

[Aleelupton]

Does her back little toe look normal? I dont stare at my chickens feet very often so now I'm starting to worry that there are many things wrong with her foot.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Okay so I washed and examined her feet and there is one tiny scab on that foot, but nowhere near that toe. I took video with the intentions of screenshotting pictures from it and apparently my video didnt take. Here is the only picture I have. In the picture you can see the tiny scab on the back little toe. I don't see any other wounds on here except for some missing feather on her back from breeding. I have ordered hen saddles which are shipping tomorrow. Her toe is definitely swollen and possible pus filled and warm to touch. Could this tiny scab be the source of infection in her larger broken toe? I cleaned the foot with peroxide. What should I do from here? And if medications are suggested can I find these at a tractor supply?

It doesn't take much for a foot to become infected. I do see a little scab on the back toe. The swollen one - is that a poke or dirt?

Since there's no obvious "Bumble" (scab) then I would take a non-invasive route. You can do that a couple of ways. Soak the feet daily in epsom salts then apply triple antibiotic ointment, wrap the foot and see if anything comes to surface.
You could also try Tricide Neo - soaking daily - it can take several weeks, but from what I understand it works very well for foot infections.
https://ouroneacrefarm.com/2013/11/09/bumblefoot-treatment-tricideneo/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...efoot-with-tricide-neo.1283554/#post-20729630

 

[Aleelupton]

It doesn't take much for a foot to become infected. I do see a little scab on the back toe. The swollen one - is that a poke or dirt?

Since there's no obvious "Bumble" (scab) then I would take a non-invasive route. You can do that a couple of ways. Soak the feet daily in epsom salts then apply triple antibiotic ointment, wrap the foot and see if anything comes to surface.
You could also try Tricide Neo - soaking daily - it can take several weeks, but from what I understand it works very well for foot infections.
https://ouroneacrefarm.com/2013/11/09/bumblefoot-treatment-tricideneo/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...efoot-with-tricide-neo.1283554/#post-20729630
View attachment 1771297

Thank you so much! I believe that is just dirt. When I soak her feet tomorrow I will look again at that area.

 

[Aleelupton]

So today I soaked her feet in warm water with Epsom salts for about 10 minutes. I gave her some extra love because she wasn't too happy about the situation. I cleaned her feet with alcohol pads and inspected them again. I didn't see any areas of injury on the swollen broken toe and the small scab that was on the little back toe came off after soaking her feet. Underneath it looked well healed and normal. Her swollen toe is very warm to touch and seems a bit more swollen today. I also noticed some redness where her toe connects to her foot. I cleaned the foot well with peroxide and sprayed both feet with poultry vetericyn spray. I applied an antibiotic ointment (without pain relief ingrediants) and wrapped the two toes and ankle with vetwrap. Unfortunately the vetwrap is pink. I observed her with the flock for an hour and the other chickens were inquisitive for about 10 minutes and then ignored her wrap. She was not fond of it and held her foot up some, but walked well with it and was eating and doing her thing. Here are pictures of her foot currently. Is there anything that sticks out? With it being so swollen and hot should I keep doing what I am doing or should I lance it? As a nurse I'm very familiar with sterile procedure, but I'm not well versed on chicken anatomy. We have a vet about an hour away that will see poultry. Is it worth the drive up there? I plan on leaving the wrap be until Monday and then soaking the foot again. Any and all suggestions welcome. I appreciate the help so much.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Isn't she cute!
It's hard to know whether to lance it or not - or at least where to lance. Chicken pus is like a semi-solid cheese like substance, so where to begin to get it out would be the question. I do agree if the swelling is getting worse, then it needs to be addressed.